A new scientific publication from the University of Antwerp, developed within the THREADING-CO₂ project, provides valuable insights into one of the key challenges in advancing CO₂ electrolysis technologies for the production of sustainable chemicals and materials.

Published in the Chemical Engineering Journal, the open-access paper, "Insights into the cation crossover and water management of anion exchange membranes for zero-gap CO₂ electrolysers", investigates the critical role of cation crossover and water management in anion exchange membrane (AEM)-based zero-gap CO₂ electrolysers.

Efficient CO₂ electrolysis is a cornerstone of the THREADING-CO₂ approach, enabling the conversion of captured carbon dioxide into valuable chemical building blocks that can ultimately be used to produce more sustainable polyester for the textile industry. However, maximizing the efficiency of this process requires a deep understanding of the transport phenomena occurring inside the electrolyser.

In this study, the researchers present a comprehensive analysis of species transport, including cation crossover, water transport, and carbon utilisation, offering new insights into how these mechanisms affect electrolyser performance. The findings contribute to improving the design and operation of next-generation CO₂ electrolysers, helping to make carbon capture and utilisation technologies more efficient and scalable.

The paper was authored by Shankar Ram Ramakrishnan, Yu Zhang, Lander Goris, Balamurugan Devadas, Nick Daems, and Tom Breugelmans and was published on 23 June 2026. The article is peer-reviewed, open access, and available under a CC BY licence.

Read the full publication at this link.